


Castle Murmurs

by ghouluke



Series: Requests and Drabbles [1]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fluff, I love royalty AUs, Knight!Luke, M/M, prince!Ashton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-08-18 09:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8158006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghouluke/pseuds/ghouluke
Summary: The castle was a big place for Ashton to wander alone. The fact he’d lived there his whole life made the whole mundane task of walking around even more boring. He needed someone to move around with, to input silly stories here and there, to help Ashton forget about the war that was brewing. All in all, he needed to find Luke.





	

**Author's Note:**

> hey i'm uploading a few of my favourite, and longer, drabbles from tumblr to here since ao3 seems to be in constant drought in terms of lashton; i'm still working on my robot au, which i may post part 1 in the series soon, however part 2 is far from done, so i don't know people's opinions on wips (although part 1 can be read alone ofc), let me know in the comments.
> 
> all of these are from my tumblr [ghouluke](http://ghouluke.tumblr.com)
> 
> the prompt was: "do you want me to leave?"
> 
> the original can be found [here](http://ghouluke.tumblr.com/post/149239024921/lahton-with-1-do-you-want-me-to-leave) if you wish to reblog

The castle was a big place for Ashton to wander alone. The fact he’d lived there his whole life made the whole mundane task of walking around even more boring. He needed someone to move around with, to input silly stories here and there, to help Ashton forget about the war that was brewing. 

All in all, he needed to find Luke.

Luke was known in the castle for disappearing to God knows where. That was one reason that brought about a lot of people’s contempt, especially those in the Royal Guard, who saw Luke as weak and unworthy of his position there, but Ashton wouldn’t have appointed him there if he didn’t think he was capable. 

Servants bowed lightly in Ashton’s direction when he passed them, with Ashton giving them polite smiles back. He always tried to treat the staff with the uttermost respect and make them feel comfortable around him. It was bad enough having the title of prince, soon to be king, weighing on his shoulders and affecting everyone’s perception of him.

Ashton thought about places in the castle Luke may be. The prince knew a lot of his friend’s hiding places, but even sometimes Ashton failed to deduce where he was and would have to wait to catch Luke at the end of their Guard meetings, or when Luke came to his room to tell Ashton about the new things he learnt in training.

With the upcoming pressure of war and the Guard’s often harsh treatment of Luke (which Ashton did discipline them for; they all knew about the Prince’s soft spot for Luke and didn’t dare go against him in his presence), Ashton guessed Luke may be getting in some extra training, so he headed outside to the outdoor field where the knights often sparred and trained. 

To Ashton’s luck, Luke was there, holding a wooden practice sword in his hand as he lunged and dodged against nobody, seemingly trying to perfect every inch of his movement and grace.

Ashton walked over, just observing, and he knew Luke could get so much better. He was so young when Ashton took him under his wing and looked after him, a duty he felt like he had to take, but now it was so much more.

When Ashton looked at Luke, he saw this beautiful, ethereal young man of twenty with so much potential. He may not have been the strongest knight or the quickest knight, but Ashton knew Luke was calculating and smart and could probably lead the Guard in their war plans. He knew Luke would never though; despite his stubborn nature, he was shy.

Ashton continued to watch as he stopped a few meters away from Luke and God, Ashton would protect him if it cost him his own life. He didn’t care that he had the Crown looming over him, his coronation soon to be held, meaning his theoretical death would impact greatly on the kingdom. All he wanted to do was keep his boy safe.

Since Ashton was behind where Luke was sparring and the man was so heavily concentrated on his practise, he only noticed Ashton when he dropped the sword and had to pick it up, practically jumping ten feet.

“Your Hi- I mean, Ashton, I didn’t know you were there..” Luke occasionally still addressed Ashton by the polite terms, despite them knowing each other for so long and Ashton’s insistence on calling him by his first name; it was nice though, when Luke would slip and call him Ash. 

Ashton’s voice was a little teasing when he spoke, noting Luke’s blushing cheeks. “Do you want me to leave?” 

“No!“ Luke said it a little quickly, which made Ashton blush a bit too. “No, I mean, you can stay. I could always use a partner to spar with.”

Ashton chuckled and went and picked another wooden sword from the pile, standing in the correct stance across from Luke. “Why are you out here alone after training hours? I don’t want you to overwork yourself.”

Luke lunged forward in attack, making Ashton move his sword into a defensive stance, trying to counteract. “Captain said my form was still poor, said I’d die if I ever went into battle like that. I don’t want to let you down by being the runt of the Guard.”

Ashton hit Luke’s side with his sword gently, when the man was distracted by thinking as he spoke. “Pay attention, Luke.” He paused, letting Luke find his stance again. “You’re not going to let me down. I put you on my Guard, because I want you by my side in this. If the Captain’s giving you grief, I can talk to him.”

“No, please don’t. I can do this on my own, okay? I don’t need anymore leg-ups from you, Ash, just because I’m your friend.”

The conversation died from there and the two of them got more engrossed in their practise, Ashton giving Luke pointers where possible. Ashton noted that Luke often picked what he said up really fast.

When they both decided that they were done, they lay down on the grass together, looking up at the clouds in a serene peace. That made Ashton think, think about the war that would inevitably happen, that they’d be dragged into. 

The prince turned his head to face his companion. “Luke? I’m sure you know that war is likely to come and peace won’t come easy. I just want you to know that I’ll do everything in my power to protect you, as after all, I got you into this mess. If you want to stay here, where you’ll be safe, I will gladly pardon you to do so.”

Luke’s head whipped towards him. “Are you serious? I’m not staying here while you’re off on the fucking battlefield. I’m not letting anything happen to you. The kingdom needs you, your mother and siblings need you.. I need you, Ash, and I’m not letting you die just because I’m not strong enough. I’ll get better, I promise you.”

Ashton’s face softened and he knew Luke’s stubborn personality would show through, after all he loved that about him. He wouldn’t take his choice away, if Luke wanted to fight, he could, but Ashton would be next to him the whole time. 

The prince reached out and brushed his fingers to Luke’s cheek, something experimental: forbidden. Luke’s cheeks became even rosier. “We’ll go together then.” 

Luke smiled, all soft around the edges, and when his hand came up to rest on Ashton’s, it felt like a promise.

**Author's Note:**

> i may write a long royalty fic/one shot one day, but i have plots for this style and a prince!luke, knight!ashton fic, I can't decide


End file.
